Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-02-27

his nugget one night and set out on .
journey which IL would not have been
safe for half q dozen men 10 under
take. Those were rough days, and
men who had met with poor luck
hunting for gold in the earth were
on the road as robbers aud assas-
sins. lockers companions felt certain
that he had made find, and his every
action was under surveillance for seve-
raj days before he started. He quietly
withdrew from the camp at night, led
his mule to the spot where the nugget
was cached, and, loading IL upon a
pack-saddle, he started of He must
have known OF the dangers OF the
road, but the desiresto convert that big
lump into gold pieces oyercame his
prudence. He was followed by two of
his companions, but they hardly knew
what course TO take. He had made
find and was jumping them, but
they had no legal right to force a ivi-
sion.
Tooker was followed until daybrcak.
and the men had about made up their
minds TO halt him and force him TO turn
back with his precious load when he
was attacked by four or five footpads.
A lively fight ensued, and Tooker and
one of his pursuers we're killed and the
other was driven Off He returned to
camp with the story, and this was the
first of long series of adventures in
which the big nugget has figured.
lockers friends determined to over
haul the robbers, and, five in num-
Der, they broke camp at once
and began pursuit. The foot
pads had a camp of rendezvous
within a few miles of where the rob-
berry occurred and the nugget was taken
there for safety. This camp was dis
covered by the Tooker crowd, and in
the fight which followed two of them
were killed, while only one of the rob-
bers escaped with his life. The nugget
had been buried, and although the
closest search was made for it the vic
tors did not unearth it. The rob-
Der who escaped made his way to
San Francisco, and six months later
set about organizing an expedition to
go after the lump. One of the men
who was to accompany him got the To-
cation of the cache and set out with
companion and reached the place two
days ahead of the others. The nugget
was found, loaded on the back of
mule, and the two had a start of q day
and half. They journeyed about forty
miles, buried the lump near mining
camp, and staked out claim and went
to work as part of the programme to
preserve their secret. They remained
in camp for six weeks, and then left
on foot, their mule having been
stolen. What happened to them
and the nugget is not known, or at
least has not been stated. The next
time the big lump was heard from it
was unearthed in the Hot Creek noun
tains of Nevada by three miners who
had come from California. The fact
that they dug it up and had it in their
possession was known to band of
sixty or seventy immigrants, with
whom the trio travelled for several
days. Everybody got a look at the
lump, and its history was related by
one of the pOssessors.
Before crossing the line into Cali
fornia the three men and the nugget
left the train secretly and were never
heard of again. 1t was three years
before the nugget was heard of again,
and information of its whereabouts
then came through n half-breed Indian,
who was dying at military post in
Colorado. He told a sergeant of cavalry
where it could be found, and the ser
geOnt and two private soldiers deserted
and went to secure it. They were
tracked to a mountain about fifty miles
away, and were found to have
dug up something and headed for Kan
sas. They were followed for day and
a half, and then the bodies of the two
privates were found on the ground,
shot through the head. The sergeant
had murdered them in order to have
the prize all to himself. Civil officers
all over Kansas and Nebraska were no.
tilted to be on the lookout for the de-
serter and murderer, but to this day
no one can tell what befell him.
The big nugget has been heard of
in an indirect and roundabout way seve-
raj times since, and it has always
been understood that it was in the
hands of the Indians. Something def
mite as to its exact location must have
been learned this fall or an expedition
would not be preparing to set out at
the opening of winter. The lost mug
get is no doubt the largest mass of
crude gold ever discovered in Califor-
mia, and perhaps in the world, and if
an expedition of five or six men can
succeed in getting possession of it at
this time there is fortune in it for
each and every one.